Ice Hockey

Orange comeback bid stifled in Mercyhurst’s weekend sweep

Orange comeback bid stifled in Mercyhurst’s weekend sweep

Despite a valiant third-period rally, Syracuse fell short against Mercyhurst, extending a 10-game losing streak to their conference rival.

Defender Charlotte Hallett (#22) is pursued by the Mercyhurst offense at Saturday's game at Tennity Ice Rink, February 17, 2024.
Jack Henry
Defender Charlotte Hallett (#22) is pursued by the Mercyhurst offense at Saturday’s game at Tennity Ice Rink, February 17, 2024.

The comeback proved short-lived, as the Lakers scored back-to-back goals to win 4-2, handing the Orange their 10th straight matchup against their conference rival. The Orange had been outshot 33-13 and lost 21 of 34 faceoffs through forty minutes of play. 

It was an uneven weekend for second-year Head Coach Britni Smith’s young team, which had seven freshmen and another four sophomores in the lineup on Saturday. At times, the Orange looked to be a young team on the cusp of greatness, but at others, they looked outmatched and overwhelmed against a more established Mercyhurst team. 

The Lakers are led by Head Coach Mike Sisti, the third-winningest coach in NCAA Division I Women’s Ice Hockey History, who picked up his 580th and 581st victories through 26 seasons against the Orange this weekend.

1st Period

Graduate student Allie Kelley was peppered in the early goings of the 1st period but made several key stops to keep the game scoreless. The Orange were outshot 7-1 in the first ten minutes of the game and didn’t add their second shot until going on the power play a little past the midway mark of the opening stanza. 

Graduate Student Bryn Saarela, who had scored eight goals in her last eight games, had the Orange’s best scoring chance of the opening period. 

Saarela entered the zone 2 on 1, demonstrating great patience before firing a shot that looked like it was going to cleanly beat the Lakers goaltender, Sophomore Erika Lind, but in a game of inches — Saarela struck iron. 

Syracuse didn’t generate another chance until Sophomore Jackson Kinsler created a one-on-one opportunity that was broken up by the Laker’s defense. 

On the same shift, Freshman Jessica Ching flashed speed and skill in transition, beating multiple defenders before blowing a tire at the blue line which led to a turnover, and a scoring chance for the Lakers.  

Junior Charlotte Hallet was a bright spot early in the game, using her size to hem the Lakers into their zone, but she later committed a body-checking penalty to add to her team lead in penalty minutes – a total of 35 minutes after today’s game. 

Mercyhurst nearly capitalized in the final seconds of the power play, but Kelley stoned the Lakers on the doorstep. 

Kelley finished with 17 saves in the first 20 minutes. The Orange won just 7 of 19 faceoffs in the first frame. 

2nd Period

After Kelley stopped the first twenty shots sent her way, Mercyhurst Freshman Julia Schalin broke the seal 3:16 into the 2nd period to make it 1-0 Lakers. 

The Lakers were outshooting the Orange 6-1 in the 2nd period when Syracuse was called for having too many players on the ice. Just 36 seconds into the Mercyhurst power play, Sophomore Sofia Nuutinen extended the Lakers’ lead to 2-0. 

Syracuse generated a few high-danger scoring opportunities late in the second stanza. The Orange were outshot 16-8 in the 2nd period and went just 6 of 15 in the face-off circle. 

3rd period

55 seconds into the 3rd period, the Orange cut the deficit to 2-1 courtesy of Saarela’s 9th goal in her last 9 games.  

Then at 9:31 in the 3rd period, Freshman Stella Costabilla crashed the net and buried her first career NCAA goal to tie the game at 2-2. 

Syracuse continued to put pressure on Mercyhurst, but Schalin scored her second of the game for the Lakers with 2:44 left in regulation to retake the lead 3-2. It was the 42nd shot that Kelley faced in the game.  

The Orange pulled Kelley in favor of an extra attacker late in the game. After a clearing attempt by the Lakers was swatted out of the air by the Orange near center ice, Nuutinen lofted one into the empty net for her second of the game to secure the win.

On to the Next

Women’s hockey will host the Nittany Lions of Penn State on Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. in a doubleheader weekend.